Selective rendering of alternating images on a graphical user interface

ABSTRACT

A system provides on a graphical user interface user-selectable options corresponding to a first type and a second type of enhanced coverage options, available for a covered property, each of the enhanced coverage options providing one or more improvements to a property covered under a property insurance policy, in accordance with universal design principles, in the event of an incurred loss to the covered property. Responsive to user selection of a type, alternating images including an image of a damaged property and an image of the damaged property after repair and an improvement in accordance with universal design principles corresponding to the selected type of enhanced coverage option, are displayed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/822,596, which claims priority to and benefit ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/053,131, filed Oct. 14, 2013, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,830,661, the contents of each of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

As life spans increase and the aging population grows larger, manypeople are opting out of traditional nursing home or retirement homesituations and opting to remain in their homes as they age. Persons 65years or older currently number more than 40+ million representedapproximately 13% of the U.S. population, or about one in every eightAmericans. By 2030, there will be about 72.1 million older persons, morethan twice their number back in 2000. People 65+represented 12.4% of thepopulation in the year 2000 but are expected to grow to be 19% of thepopulation by 2030.

Research has shown that 50% of so called Boomers and 72% of adults age50+ want to “live in place” meaning that they would prefer to retire intheir current homes rather than moving to more conventional retirementhome facilities. However, most current homes are not designed for theneeds of the aging, elderly and/or impaired and independently upgradingsuch homes is generally impractical and expensive. Ideally, it would bebeneficial to meet aging needs/improvements before a health or agingneed crisis occurs such as a health need affecting mobility ordexterity.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a way to upgrade and improvehomes and businesses to make them more accessible, useable andsustainable so that occupants will have the benefit of a greater qualityof life over an extended time period.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the present invention is a system for providingenhanced coverage options for a base homeowners insurance policy, thesystem comprising: one or more processors; a memory coupled to the oneor more processors; and one or more programs, wherein the one or moreprograms are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by theone or more processors, the one or more programs including instructionsfor: providing an enhanced coverage option selection screen on agraphical user interface, each enhanced coverage option providing,responsive to a loss covered under the base homeowners insurance policyand affecting a room of the home covered under the base homeownersinsurance policy, upgrade coverage based on universal design principlesfor the affected room; receiving an enhanced coverage option selectionfrom the graphical user interface; storing the enhanced coverage optionselection in a storage device; determining a premium for the enhancedcoverage option selection; and communicating, via a communicationsnetwork, the determined premium for the enhanced coverage optionselection to a user.

In other embodiments, the present invention is a computer system forproviding universal design based enhanced coverage options to a currentor future policyholder, comprising: one or more processors; and a memorystorage device in communication with the one or more processors. The oneor more processors are configured to: provide a display of a pluralityof enhanced coverage options, wherein the display includes one or moreenhanced coverage examples for display, each of the enhanced coverageoptions providing for improvements in accordance with universal designprinciples responsive to a covered loss; receive via a computercommunications network user data related to a enhanced coverage optionselection; store the enhanced coverage option selection in the memorystorage device; determine, based on the enhanced coverage optionselection, a premium associated with the enhanced coverage optionselection; and transmit the determined premium information related tothe enhanced coverage option selection to the current or futurepolicyholder.

In other embodiments, the present invention is a computer-implementedmethod for administering property and casualty insurance policies, thepolicies having enhanced coverage for providing one or more enhancementsin accordance with universal design principles in the event of anincurred loss to a covered property, comprising: providing, via agraphical user interface, a display of enhanced coverage optionsavailable for a covered property; receiving, via a computercommunications network, a user selected enhanced coverage option madevia the graphical user interface; storing the enhanced coverage optionselection in a database associated with an insurance entity;determining, by a computer processor, a premium associated with theenhanced coverage option selection; and transmitting, by the computercommunications network, the determined premium information related tothe enhanced coverage option selection for display on the graphical userinterface.

In other embodiments, the present invention is a system for managinginsurance claims associated with property upgrades for an insuredproperty to provide upgrades in accordance with universal designprinciples to an affected room of an insured property, comprising: adata storage device for storing data associated with a propertyinsurance information database; a computer processor configured toexecute program instructions and to retrieve the data associated withthe property insurance information database from the data storagedevice; and a memory, coupled to the computer processor, storing programinstructions for execution by the computer processor to: receive, from aremote user, property insurance data submitted electronically inconnection with a loss event related to the insured property, theinsurance data including data identifying a room affected by the lossevent; determine if the loss event qualifies for the upgrade, thedetermining including determining whether the affected room is a roomtype eligible for an upgrade; responsive to determining that the lossevent qualifies for the upgrade, communicate to the remote user that theuser is eligible for the upgrade; receive upgrade expense informationfrom the remote user; validate the upgrade expense information from theremote user, the validating including determining whether the upgradeexpense information is indicative of an upgrade in accordance withuniversal design principles; and responsive to determining in thevalidating that the upgrade expenses of the upgrade expense informationare covered, provide a payment for the validated upgrade expense subjectto an upgrade coverage limit and exhaustion of a base coverage amountfor the loss event.

In other embodiments, the present invention is a computer-implementedmethod associated with a property insurance claims process foradministering enhanced coverage options based on better living designprinciples, comprising receiving, via a communications network,insurance claims data submitted via a remote user device; verifying, bya processor, the submitted insurance claims data qualify for enhancedcoverage enhancement based at least in part on information stored in aninsurance property enhanced coverage database; receiving, via thecommunications network, additional insurance claims data related to theenhanced coverage enhancement from the remote user device; determiningan approved payment amount, by a processor, the payment amount relatedto the enhanced coverage upgrade; and transmitting payment data to theremote user device via the communications network .

In other embodiments, the present invention is a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions adapted to be executed bya computer processor to perform an insurance claims based method relatedto administering improvement coverages for an insured property, saidmethod comprising: receiving, from an insured, property loss datasubmitted via a web based claims sub-system; validating the submittedproperty loss data to determine whether the property is eligible forimprovement coverage; communicating to the insured, an improvementcoverage amount once the submitted property loss data is determined tobe eligible; and providing payment to the insured for the improvementcoverage amount, wherein the upgrade coverage amount is above an amountallocated for indemnification of the property loss.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description,given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary computer architecture that may be used forinsurance quote administration and management;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary system that may be used for the management ofinsurance quotations;

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary system screen of an illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary system device in operation;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary method of an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 shows another exemplary method of an illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 shows another exemplary device of an illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 8 shows another exemplary device of an illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 9 shows another exemplary system of an illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 10 shows an excerpt from an exemplary database of an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed herein are processor-executable methods, computing systems,and related technologies for the administration, management andcommunication of insurance coverage options, including in embodimentsthe administration, management and communication of an enhanced propertybased coverage quotation for providing enhancements and improvements toa policyholder's home or business. Using this enhanced property basedcoverage, policyholders would be able to upgrade their properties, suchas home kitchens or bathrooms, to improve the comfort, convenience andflexibility that extends beyond the room's original condition before aloss occurred. For example, improvements such as task lighting, easygrip door handles or faucets, pull out shelves in cabinets, grab bars orother elements that improve accessibility or safety would be covered aspart of this replacement plus type of optional coverage. In embodiments,in the event of a covered loss to the kitchen or bathroom of an insuredproperty, this enhanced coverage would allow the policyholder to upgradeany part, or selected parts or fixtures, of the damaged room withuniversal design features and not be limited to upgrading or improvingthe area of the room that was damaged, or fixtures or appliances thatwere damaged, in the underlying covered loss.

While most products and environments are designed for the average user,universal design or better living design involves the specific design ofproducts and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatestextent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.As used herein, the term “universal design” or “better living design”are used interchangeably to refer to the design of a product orenvironment that involves the consideration of a variety of factors,which may include two or more of ergonomics, aesthetics, engineeringoptions, environmental issues, industry standards, safety concerns, andcost, so that the product or environment may be used to the greatestextent possible. For example, a standard height and width door is notaccessible to everyone but if the door is widened and a large doorknobis installed, the door becomes accessible to more people, including somewheelchair users. The application of universal design principlesuniversally leads to the making of homes and other buildings accessibleto everyone including a small person, a large person, a young person, anelderly woman, and an able-bodied person as well as a person using awalker or wheelchair among others.

Utilizing embodiments of the present invention, an applicant orpolicyholder can select a so-called “enhanced” or “better living” optionfor a property insurance policy and then use this optional coverageendorsement to cover an upgrade or modification in accordance withuniversal design or better living design, that is better suited to theirneeds including but not limited to: widening doorways, installingreachable controls and switches, installing easy-to-use handles andswitches such as lever-style door handles and faucets, and rocker lightswitches, raised front-loading dishwashers, side-by-side refrigerators,easy-access kitchen storage such as adjustable-height cupboards and lazySusans, low or no-threshold stall showers with built-in benches orseats, non-slip floors, bathtubs, and showers, raised, comfort-leveltoilets, multi-level kitchen countertops with open space underneath,windows that require minimal effort to open and close, task lightingdirected to specific surfaces or areas and easy-to-grasp D-shapedcabinet pulls.

FIG. 1 shows an example architecture 100 that may be used for theadministration and management of enhanced coverage policy options in anillustrative embodiment of the present invention. The enhanced coverageoptions may be used by a policyholder to cover better living design oruniversal design upgrades including but not limited to grab bars in thebathroom, single handle faucets, overhead lighting, non-slip flooring,step-in bathtubs, comfort height toilets, etc. that will enhance thequality of life for the policyholder and family members of thepolicyholder. The enhanced coverages are for features and improvementsthat will make a property, such as a kitchen or bath in the property,more comfortable, safer, and more usable for homeowner needs. Theenhanced coverages will benefit people with special needs, smallchildren, the elderly, the handicapped, etc. The example architecture100 may include an insurance data system 110, a web system 120, a clientdevice 130, a network 140, a third party data management system 150 anda product management system 160. Third party data management system 150may also include a database 152. In the example architecture 100 of FIG.1, the insurance data system 110 and the product management system 160may be under the control of an insurance/financial services company andtheir associated agents/brokers. In other embodiments, insurance datasystem 110 may be integrated with product management system 160, withboth insurance data system 110 and product management system 160 beingunder the control of an insurance entity.

Referring still to FIG. 1, the insurance data system 110 may include acommunications interface module 112, a premium/payment calculationmodule 114, and an insurance/property information database 116. Theenhanced coverage premium calculation module 114 may include one or moresoftware modules or objects and one or more specific-purpose processorelements to perform the calculations and processing required byembodiments of the present invention such as for calculating the premiumfor the enhanced coverage options. In some embodiments, the enhancedcoverage premium calculation module 114 may also include one or morebusiness rules and one or more predictive models. The business rules mayprovide guidelines on how to rate and quote individuals and entitiesbased on certain types of underwriting related information and how tocalculate premiums, claims payments and other related calculations.Other business rules may be implemented in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention. The premium/payment calculation module 114 mayinclude or access one or more look-up tables that correlate premiumrates to one or more factors.

In operation, the enhanced coverage premium/payment calculation module114 may receive client or customer data related to home insurance,business insurance and automobile insurance such as an address ofindividual, specific property items, etc. provided through client device130 of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The enhancedcoverage premium/payment calculation module 114 may also receive oraccess certain third party data, such as tax, appraisal, town, socialnetwork information, as well as other third party sources ofinformation. The enhanced coverage premium/payment calculation module114 may also receive enhanced coverage option selections such from agraphical user interface 134 displayed on client device 130.

Enhanced coverage premium/payment calculation module 114 in conjunctionwith product management system 160 may also output one or morequotations for one or more insurance products having enhanced coverageoptions such as home, business or automobile insurance for review andapproval by the user. The quotations may take into account the user'sinputs provided, social network data related to the user and thecharacteristics of the insurance product.

The insurance/property information database 116 may store informationsuch as the user provided input, insured property information, premiumallocation information, universal design information and better livingdesign information, social network information, and third party datainformation related to the user/applicant and insured property andproperty the subject of an application for insurance. Insuranceinformation database 116 may include data stored in one or morecomputer-readable storage media, and may be or include one or morerelational databases, hierarchical databases, object-oriented databases,one or more flat files, one or more spreadsheets, and/or one or morestructured files. Insurance/property information database 116 may bemanaged by one or more database management systems (not depicted), whichmay be based on a technology such as Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, OracleRelational Database Management System (RDBMS), PostgreSQL, a NoSQLdatabase technology, and/or any other appropriate technology.

Communication between the insurance data system 110 and the otherelements in the example architecture 100 of FIG. 1 may be performed viathe communications interface module 112 interacting with network 140.The insurance data system 110 may also access third party systems andthird party data, not shown, which may include town propertyinformation, business data, social network history and activity andother sources of information which may impact the insurancedeterminations and transactions herein via network 140. For example,insurance data system 110 may interface with computer systems associatedwith one or more third party sites to receive data related to client 130such as the applicant's housing characteristics, habits, risk profiles,and interests. For example, third party sites may include e-commercesites, utility provider sites, automobile sites, real estate sites,universal design related sites and other variety of sites in theInternet.

Referring still to FIG. 1, the product management system 160 may performfunctionality such as storing and processing information related tocertain insurance products and coverages such as home insurance,automobile insurance and commercial/business insurance. For example, theproduct management system 160 may include information on certain typesof insurance products and product/coverage options such as the productcharacteristics, benefits, features, deductibles, limits, etc. Theproduct management system 160 may store this information in a productmanagement database 162. The product management database 162 may alsoinclude data stored in one or more computer-readable storage media, andmay be or include one or more relational databases, hierarchicaldatabases, object-oriented databases, one or more flat files, one ormore spreadsheets, and/or one or more structured files. As will bedescribed in further detail below, the insurance data system 110 may useinformation from the product management database 162 to select andpurchase or sell potential products and coverages which may be suitablefor one or more clients or customers based on their information andneeds.

Referring still to FIG. 1, a web site system 120 may provide a web sitethat may be accessed directly by a consumer operating a user clientdevice 130. User client device 130 can include, but is not limited tocellular telephones, other wireless communication devices, personaldigital assistants, pagers, laptop computers, tablet computers,smartphones, or combinations thereof. A user client device 130 may bepart of a system or network of a third party, such as an insuranceagency system, agency management system, or a financial advisor system,as well as consumer devices. In the illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention, user client device 130 may communicate with the website system 120 that may be operated by or under the control of aninsurance entity or other third party entity such as an outsourced typeentity or third party administrator type entity. The web site system 120may generate one or more web pages for access by client device 130, andmay receive responsive information from the client device 130 such asuser information for obtaining an insurance quotation for a home policyhaving enhanced coverage option(s). The responsive information mayinclude information that identifies the user, information related to theproduct(s) that the user is viewing, purchasing or requesting, and/orother related types of information. The web site system 120 may thencommunicate this information to the insurance management system 110 forprocessing via communications interface 112. The web site system 120 mayalso communicate one or more web pages to the client device 130 thatprovide one or more product options that may be suitable for the userfrom the product management system 160.

In operation, client device 130 may be used to approve and/or select oneor more of the product coverages, products and/or options in accordancewith their needs. Selection via client device 130 may be accomplishedvia a touch-sensitive touch screen that provides an input interface andan output interface between the client device 130 and the client oruser. The client device 130 displays visual output to the user formanipulation by the user. The visual output may include checkboxes,radio buttons, graphics, text, icons, video, and any combinationthereof. The touch screen may display one or more graphics within theuser interface displayed on device 130. In this embodiment, as well asothers, a user may select one or more of the graphical elements bymaking contact or touching the graphics, for example, with one or morefingers or stylus implements.

The web site system 120 may include an insurance web application module122 and a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server module 124. The webapplication module 122 may generate the web pages that make up the website and that are communicated by the HTTP server module 124. Theinsurance web application module 122 may be implemented in and/or basedon a technology such as Active Server Pages (ASP), PHP: HypertextPreprocessor (PHP), Python/Zope, Ruby, any server-side scriptinglanguage, and/or any other appropriate technology.

The HTTP server module 124 may implement the HTTP protocol, and maycommunicate HyperText Markup Language (HTML) pages and related data fromthe web site to/from the consumer client device 130 using HTTP. The HTTPserver module 124 may be, for example, a Sun-ONE Web Server, an ApacheHTTP server, a Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) server,and/or may be based on any other appropriate HTTP server technology. Theweb site system 120 may also include one or more additional componentsor modules (not depicted), such as one or more switches, load balancers,firewall devices, routers, and devices that handle power backup and dataredundancy.

Referring still to FIG. 1, the client device 130 may include a webbrowser module 134, which may communicate data related to the web siteto/from the HTTP server module 124 and the insurance web applicationmodule 122 in the web site system 120. The web browser module 134 mayinclude and/or communicate with one or more sub-modules that performfunctionality such as rendering HTML (including but not limited toHTML5), rendering raster and/or vector graphics, executing JavaScript,and/or rendering multimedia content. Alternatively or additionally, theweb browser module 134 may implement Rich Internet Application (RIA)and/or multimedia technologies such as Adobe Flash, MicrosoftSilverlight, and/or other technologies. The web browser module 134 mayimplement RIA and/or multimedia technologies using one or web browserplug-in modules (such as, for example, an Adobe Flash or MicrosoftSilverlight plugin), and/or using one or more sub-modules within the webbrowser module 134 itself. The web browser module 134 may display dataon one or more displays that are included in or connected to the clientdevice 130, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) display, organiclight-emitting diode (OLED) display, touch screen or monitor. The clientdevice 130 may receive input from the user of the client device 130 frominput devices (not depicted) that are included in or connected to theclient device 130, such a mouse or other pointing device, or a touchscreen, and provide data that indicates the input to the web browsermodule 134.

The example architecture 100 of FIG. 1 may also include one or morewired and/or wireless networks within network 140 via whichcommunications between the elements 110, 120, 130, 150 and 160 in theexample architecture 100 may take place. The networks may be private orpublic networks, and/or may include the Internet. In one exampledeployment scenario, the insurance data system 110, web site system 120,third party system 150 and product management system 160 may communicatevia one or more private networks that are under the control of thefinancial services/insurance company, while the client device 130 maycommunicate with the web site system 120 via the Internet.

Each or any combination of the modules 112, 114, 122, and 124 shown inFIG. 1 may be implemented as one or more software modules or objects,one or more specific-purpose processor elements, or as combinationsthereof. Suitable software modules include, by way of example, anexecutable program, a function, a method call, a procedure, a routine orsub-routine, one or more processor-executable instructions, an object,or a data structure. In addition or as an alternative to the features ofthese modules described above with reference to FIG. 1, these modules112, 114, 122, and 124 may perform functionality described later herein.

Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary computer system 200 for use in anillustrative embodiment of the invention will now be described. Computersystem 200 may be configured to perform insurance processing andmanagement for one or more users, clients or customers 202 related toone or more enhanced coverage options. System 200 may interface with ainsurance company system 204 and a third party system 205 via a network206. In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, insurancecompany system 204 is responsible for the policy functions associatedwith customer 202 and third party system 205 may be associated with oneor more quoting, claims processing, underwriting or other relatedfunctions associated with management of the enhanced coverage options ofembodiments of the present invention. In computer system 200, a centralprocessing unit or processor 210, which may include one or moreprocessors, executes instructions contained in one or more programs suchas insurance management application program 214, stored in one or morememories, such as storage devices 220. Processor 210 may provide thecentral processing unit (CPU) functions of a computing device on one ormore integrated circuits. As used herein, the term “processor” broadlyrefers to and is not limited to a single- or multi-core general purposeprocessor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, aGraphics Processing Unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in associationwith a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, one or moreApplication Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), one or more FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA) circuits, any other type of integratedcircuit (IC), a system-on-a-chip (SOC), and/or a state machine.

Storage devices 220 may include suitable media, such as optical ormagnetic disks, fixed disks with magnetic storage (hard drives), tapesaccessed by tape drives, and other storage media. Processor 210communicates, such as through bus 208 and/or other data channels, withcommunications interface unit 212, storage devices 220, system memory230, and input/output controller 240. System memory 230 may furtherinclude a random access memory 232 and a read only memory 234. Randomaccess memory 232 may store instructions in the form of computer codeprovided by application 214 to implement embodiments of the presentinvention. System 200 further includes an input/output controller 240that may communicate with processor 210 to receive data from user inputssuch as pointing devices, touch screens, and audio inputs, and mayprovide data to outputs, such as data to video drivers for formatting ondisplays, and data to audio devices.

Storage devices 220 are configured to exchange data with processor 210,and may store programs containing processor-executable instructions, andvalues of variables for use by such programs. Processor 210 isconfigured to access data from storage devices 220, which may includeconnecting to storage devices 220 and obtaining data or reading datafrom the storage devices, or place data into the storage devices.Storage devices 220 may include local and network accessible massstorage devices. Storage devices 220 may include media for storingoperating system 222 and mass storage devices such as storage 224 forstoring data related to insurance information related to the customerssuch as property information, claims history, universal designconsiderations, etc. Communications interface unit 212 may communicatevia network 206 with other financial services/insurance company computersystems such as insurance company system servers 204 as well as otherservers, computer systems of agents, financial advisors, customers,remote sources of data, and with systems for implementing instructionsoutput by processor 210. Insurance services company server 204 may alsobe configured in a distributed architecture, wherein databases andprocessors are housed in separate units or locations. Some such serversperform primary processing functions and contain at a minimum, a RAM, aROM, and a general controller or processor. In such an embodiment, eachof these servers is attached to a communications hub or port that servesas a primary communication link with other servers, client or usercomputers and other related devices. The communications hub or port mayhave minimal processing capability itself, serving primarily as acommunications router. A variety of communications protocols may be partof the system, including but not limited to: Ethernet, SAP, SAS™, ATP,Bluetooth, GSM and TCP/IP. Network 206 may be or include wired orwireless local area networks and wide area networks, and overcommunications between networks, including over the Internet. One ormore public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud and cloud-like networksmay also be implemented, for example, to handle and conduct processingof one or more transactions or calculations of embodiments of thepresent invention, including computation of a premium for transmissionto a user/application. Cloud based computing may be used herein tohandle any one or more of the application, storage and connectivityrequirements of embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, anysuitable data and communication protocols may be employed to implementembodiments of the present invention.

With reference still to FIG. 2, communications interface 212 is used forreceiving user data related to the user's insurance requirement andbackground. Computer processor 210 executes program instructions, suchas provided by the application 214 to receive, via the communicationsinterface 212, third party data, social network data and other relatedinformation. Database 224 may include transaction data such ashistorical data from the user or other third parties.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary screen of an illustrative embodiment ofthe present invention as may be displayed among devices shown in FIGS. 1and 2. In one embodiment, a user operates a device 310, such as aportable computing device for viewing and accessing information and datarelated to an insurance policy as described herein. Portable computingdevice may include a touch screen 312 that can be an active sensoremploying capacitive, resistive, inductive, or other methods, or it canbe a passive surface on which touch sensing is accomplished by optical,acoustic, or other similar methods. Device 310 can also be a liquidcrystal display (LCD), organic light emitting diode (OLED) display,electroluminescent display, or any other type of small display suitablefor mounting in a portable computer or mobile device. Device 310 may becolor or monochrome, and may include a backlight capability to enhancereadability in various lighting conditions.

In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, device 310displays a web document 314 for access by a user. Web document 314 mayinclude an input area 316 for selecting inputs related to the enhancedcoverage choices or options and other related options. Web document maybe a web page within an insurance entity operated website where thewebsite displays information on one or more insurance product option(s)that have been determined to be suitable for the consumer based on theirinputs and selections. Enhanced coverage options may include optionsdesigned by at least two tiers of enhanced coverage option selections,such as high, medium or low, or by dollar value such as $1000, $5000 and$10,000 or by color gold, silver and bronze, etc., such as shown inscreen area 318. Each tier may be defined by a coverage limit amount. Inembodiments, enhanced coverage option selections may be two or moreupgrade types. Examples of upgrade types may include general categoriessuch as general safety, including grab bars and non-slip floors,wheelchair accessible, including wider doors and accessible counter andsink levels, and enhanced lighting. Web document 314 is an example of anenhanced coverage option selection screen displayed on a graphical userinterface. In accordance with illustrative embodiments of the presentinvention, selecting the enhanced coverage option will provide theinsured with upgrade coverage including enhanced improvements for aninsured property in the event of a claim or loss based on universaldesign principles. Web document 314 may also include an enhancedcoverage example area 320 that may provide educational informationrelated to the various enhanced coverage options or more specifically tothe option selected and one or more examples of an exemplary improvementthat may be made if there is a claim made with enhanced coverage inplace. For example, as shown in screen 322, a property that sustainsdamages to a bathroom area may be upgraded as shown in screen 324 with agrab bar under universal design principles despite the fact that theoriginal property shown in screen 322 did not have a grab bar. Otheravailable upgrades may include raised front-loading dishwashers,side-by-side refrigerators, easy-access kitchen storage, low orno-threshold stall showers with built-in benches or seats, non-slipfloors, bathtubs, and showers, raised, comfort-level toilets,multi-level kitchen countertops with open space underneath, easy to openand close windows, task lighting directed to specific surfaces or areasand easy-to-grasp D-shaped cabinet pulls among others. Thus, theavailable upgrades may include upgrades to personal property, such asrefrigerators, as well as upgrades to fixtures, such as toilets andbathtubs. Upgrades may be applicable to homes and businesses and mayalso include consulting type services such as ergonomics or lifestyleconsultants that may help arrange or organize a home or business in amore ergonomic or useful arrangement. Businesses may use the enhancedcoverage option to upgrade walkways, bathrooms and other access areas inview of business regulations, state regulations and federal regulationsas applicable.

Such enhanced coverages of the embodiments of the present invention maybe associated with one or more parameters or conditions. In onevariation, the enhanced coverages may apply to loss events affecting oroccurring in all rooms and areas of an insured property. In othervariations, the enhanced coverages may apply only to loss eventsaffecting or occurring in rooms of a certain room type, such as insuredproperty kitchens (kitchen room type) and insured property bathrooms(bathroom room type). Enhanced coverage upgrades or improvements may belimited to the damaged room and would only be applied aboveindemnification of loss and/or after the applicable deductible has beenpaid. Additionally, the enhanced coverage may provide a pre-payment ofthe coverage amount to the insured by the insurance company prior toincurring of upgrade costs or may only be paid when upgrade costs areincurred and after receipt by the insurance company of upgrade expenseinformation, such as invoices or bills from one or more contractors whohave performed services and provided materials related to the upgrade.Allowable costs may include fixture and labor costs in one embodiment upto the available coverage limits of the enhanced coverage but only oncethe primary or base policy coverage limit has been exhausted. Forexample, if the deductible is $500 and the base coverage is $10,000,only after the $500 is paid by the insured and the $10,000 has beenexhausted in repairing the underlying damage will, for example, the$1500 enhanced coverage option apply. In other embodiments, theallowable costs may up to the available coverage limits of the enhancedcoverage after payment of the deductible amount by the insured, even ifthe base coverage has not been exhausted in repairing the underlyingdamage.

Turning now to FIG. 4, an exemplary user device 400 is illustrateddisplaying a quotation process in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. Device 400 displays a quotation webpage or document 410 that may be generated by the insurance data system110 shown relative to FIG. 1. Document 410 is configured to receivecertain information and input on behalf of the user through a series ofinputs provided on user device 400. Such information and input providedby the user is then stored such as in a data storage device describedwith respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. Web document 410 is configured to receiveinput from the user regarding their insurance profile such as in thecase of home insurance, the address of the property they are seeking toinsure, and the desired enhanced coverage option such as gold, silverand bronze option, each option corresponding to different levels ofcoverage limits for universal design based improvements in the event ofa loss. Web document 410 thus serves as an enhanced coverage optionselection screen on a graphical user interface. In operation, the usermoves from one user input field to another form field to complete eachselected data request or question displayed in each form field.

In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, device 400 maybe a touch sensitive display that is responsive to a finger, a stylus,etc. for manipulation and completion of form 410. Certain operatingcircuitry may control or operate device 400 to show different respectiveimages, such as, for example, inputs, text instructions or information,icons or functions of a graphical user interface (GUI), lists ofinformation, etc., as is known. Device 400 further is operative todisplay, responsive to receipt of a user selection of an enhancedcoverage option selection, an insurance quotation for the user selectedenhanced coverage option such as shown in screen display 420. Thecoverage options may be displayed for an insured who already has a baseinsurance policy for the insured property, or for a new prospectiveinsured, or in connection with a renewal of an existing policy. Device400 may be further operative to display one or more inputs for a user toselect to signify user acceptance of a quotation. Upon receipt of dataindicative of user acceptance of the quotation shown in screen display420, the user may be provided an electronic insurance coverageinformation as shown in screen display 430. The system is thus operativeto receive a communication to bind the enhanced coverage, such as anendorsement to a base insurance policy for the insured property. Inembodiments, a total premium, which is a sum of a base premium for theunderlying property coverage and the premium for the enhanced coveragepremium, may be calculated and displayed for the user prior to bindingof the policy and endorsement. The premium for the enhanced coverageupgrade may be fixed for a period, such as a yearly, semi-annual orother policy term. In other embodiments, the premium for the enhancedcoverage upgrade may be variable. In embodiments, the enhanced coverageoption is provided per incurred loss. Thus, a limit may for coveredupgrades may be for each incurred loss. For a loss that affects both abathroom and a kitchen, then only a single upgrade may be available. Fora loss that affects a bathroom, and a separate loss under the samepolicy that affects a kitchen, upgrades would available for both thebathroom and the kitchen. In other embodiments, the limit for coveredupgrades may be limited to a single upgrade per policy term or othertime period, regardless of whether there are separate losses.

FIG. 5 shows an example process flow diagram illustrating a method 500for administering an electronic enhanced coverage management processusing the example architecture 100 of FIG. 1. The method 500 of FIG. 5may begin by providing a display of enhanced coverage options availablefor an insured property, or a property that is the subject of anapplication for insurance, such as on a graphical user interface, step502. The enhanced coverage options will provide the policyholder withuniversal design based improvements in the event of an incurred loss invarying limits of coverage. Method 500 continues with receiving aenhanced coverage option selection, such as a selection of one option ata certain dollar value level, step 504. Method 500 continues withcalculating a premium for the enhanced coverage option selection, step506. Method 500 proceeds with transmitting such as via thecommunications interface, the calculated premium to customer or agent,step 508. Method 500 continues with processing of payment for thecalculated premium, step 510, where the total premium paid will begenerally a combination of the base premium for an underlying propertycoverage and the premium for the enhanced coverage. The enhancedcoverage may be an endorsement on the policy including the underlyingproperty coverage. Method 500 proceeds with outputting an electronicinsurance confirmation to the user, step 512. Electronic insuranceconfirmation may include a text message, email or web page that providesthe customer or agent with policy information such as policy number,limits, deductibles, claim information, etc. as shown in FIG. 4.

In one example, a customer selects a $2500 enhanced coverage option andsubsequently the customer has water damage in a bathroom in theirinsured property. The underlying property coverage will provide forrepair/replacement of the water damage in the bathroom and the enhancedcoverage will reimburse the insured customer to replace a previouslyundamaged existing standard height toilet with a comfort height toiletup to endorsement coverage limit and after the water damage deductibleis met. Additionally, if an endorsement balance exists after payment ofcosts of the comfort height toilet, the customer can opt for otherupgrades, i.e. shower grab bars or other universal design basedimprovements up to the limit of the enhanced coverage.

FIG. 6 shows a process flow diagram illustrating another computerimplemented method 600 of an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention. In an embodiment, a notice of loss/claim is received by aninsurance entity, step 610. The notice of loss/claim may be a telephonecall, electronic mail message or other communication from a customer,such as an individual insured individual, such as a property owner, acommercial insurance customer, such as an owner of a property used forbusiness purposes, and/or an insurance agent. The customer may be aremote user of a system, such as a user of a user device providing claiminformation via a graphical user interface accessed via a network. Thegraphical user interface may be generated by a web-based claimssub-system of an insurance entity computer network. The notice ofloss/claim may include property insurance data in connection with a lossevent related to an insured property. The property insurance data mayinclude address information, a room type or identification of a room orrooms, where the loss was incurred, a type of damage, pictorial data,time and date of discovery or occurrence of damage, and other data. Itis determined then, if an enhanced coverage option was selected and isincluded in the current term of the policy to which the notice ofloss/claim applies, step 620. Determination may be accomplished bychecking a insurance information database of policyholder and policycoverage options to determine if any of the policy coverage options suchas an enhanced coverage option or endorsement applies to the currentpolicy under which the current loss/claim is submitted. If the enhancedcoverage option was not selected, the method proceeds with processingthe loss/claim in a conventional manner, step 630. A claim may proceedin a conventional manner by having an insurance adjuster inspect thedamage, and the insured receiving compensation to only repair/replacethe damaged area of the property. If an enhanced coverage option wasselected, then it is determined if the loss/claim qualifies for, or iseligible for, the enhanced coverage, such as an upgrade, step 640.Determining if the loss/claim qualifies for the enhanced coverage may beaccomplished by verifying if information received as part of the noticeof loss/claim qualifies under certain business rules such as if the lossrelates, at least in part, to a certain area or part of the property,such as a covered room type, that is covered under the enhancedcoverage. If it is determined that the loss does not qualify forenhanced coverage, then the method proceeds with processing theloss/claim in a conventional manner, step 630. If it is determined thatthe loss does qualify for enhanced coverage, then the customer isnotified of the enhanced coverage option, step 650. Notification may bevia an electronic mail message, text message, display on a graphicaluser interface on a user device of a remote user, telephone call, letteror otherwise. For example, after notification from an insured customerat the time of a property based loss such as in the kitchen or bathroom,the insurance entity, such as through an insurance call center or claimsadjuster may notify that customer that in addition to covering theunderlying damage, the policy will also cover better living designupgrades in a damaged covered room up to the coverage limit of theenhanced coverage option originally selected by the insured such as, forexample, a $1000, $2500 and $5000 coverage limit. In embodiments, aninsurance company workflow may cause a notification to be directed bymail, recorded voice message, text or otherwise to an insured that oneor more claims representatives are available to provide real-timeinformation and answers to questions regarding available upgrades. Inembodiments, an insured may be provided access to an automated system,such as via a link or within a login on an insurance company website,that is pre-loaded with information regarding the covered loss and thecoverage, and can provide such data as listings of available upgrades,reasonable costs for the upgrades, and other information. Insurancecompany computer systems may be configured to provide claimsrepresentatives with such information on screens to reference duringcalls with insureds. In embodiments, the insurance company systems maybe configured to receive an insured selection of an upgrade and providepre-approval of a claim for the upgrade up to the coverage limit or areasonable amount for the upgrade. As noted below, reasonable amountsfor upgrades may be stored in one or more databases. Reasonable amountsfor upgrades may vary by geographical factors, based on cost of labor,for example, which varies by geographic area.

The insured may then arrange for one or more upgrades or improvements inaccordance with universal design principles. An insurance entity systemmay receive additional insurance claims data. The additional insuranceclaims data may be data indicative of upgrade expense information. Theupgrade expense information may include invoice data from one or morecontractors who have provided upgrades to an undamaged items inaccordance with universal design principles. The method continues with avalidation of the enhanced coverage improvement, step 660, such as animprovement of a side by side refrigerator 662, a raised height toiletseat 664 or a grab bar 668. Validation may be accomplished bydetermining if the improvement qualifies under certain business rulesand parameters such as rules related to universal design considerations,insurance company guidelines, state rules or otherwise. Validation mayinclude reviewing contractor and vendor bills and invoices for theupgrade performed or purchased. The validation may include determiningwhether the contractor and vendor bills and invoices constitutereasonable additional upgrade costs. In embodiments, the validation mayinclude accessing a database having reasonable cost figures associatedwith types of upgrades, comparing the amounts of bills and invoices arenot more than the reasonable cost figures, and then approving claims forpayment up to the greater of the amount of submitted bills and invoicesand the stored reasonable cost figures. Validation may also includereviewing pictorial data received from the policyholder after theimprovement or upgrade is made to determine whether or not theimprovements shown in the pictorial data are of a covered upgrade typeand are consistent with the bills and invoices. For example, validationmay be used to prevent fraud or unauthorized improvements undertaken bya policyholder.

The step of validation results in a determination either that theexpenses are payable in full, that the expenses are payable in part, orthat the expenses are not payable. In embodiments, a system process mayprovide expense data to a live employee or to a fraud determinationmodule or system, based on one or more rules. After validation of theupgrade expenses, if a result of validation is for payment in full or inparty, the system may generate instructions for payment to the insuredin accordance with submitted expenses, deductibles and coverage limits.In addition, a notification may be provided to the insured of the resultof the validation step and the reasons for determination that theexpenses are payable only in part or not at all, by any mode ofcommunication. The payment may be made by check, ACH transaction, wiretransfer by a banking entity or otherwise.

In embodiments, the validation step may be independent from processingof a claim for the underlying loss. For example, insurance companysystems may be configured to review and process a claim for theunderlying loss and provide a cash payment (or payment via check, ACH orother suitable manner) to the insured upon receipt, review and approvalof documentation of the loss. The validation of the upgrade may takeplace independently in time. By way of example, the method 600 mayfurther include as part of validation a step of determining whether theclaim for an upgrade has been submitted within a stored term followingthe date of occurrence of the loss. The stored term is set by the baseinsurance policy, and may be one, two or three years followingoccurrence of the loss, in embodiments. In embodiments, a system of aninsurance company may be configured to provide a notification to aninsured, upon or within a time period after payment of, or another stepin an insurance workflow, such as approval, a claim forrepair/replacement on a loss for which an upgrade is available, that theupgrade is available. In embodiments, more than one notification may beprovided.

One or more steps of method 600 may be implemented as computer programinstructions provided on a non-transitory computer readable medium forexecution by one or more processors. As used to herein, the term“computer-readable medium” broadly refers to and is not limited to aregister, a cache memory, a ROM, a semiconductor memory device (such asa D-RAM, S-RAM, or other RAM), a magnetic medium such as a flash memory,a hard disk, a magneto-optical medium, an optical medium such as aCD-ROM, a DVDs, or BD, or other type of device for electronic datastorage.

FIG. 7 shows an example computing device 710 that may be used toimplement features describe above. The computing device 710 may includea peripheral device interface 712, display device interface 714, astorage device 716, a processor 718, a memory device 720, and acommunication interface 722. Computing device may be coupled to adisplay device 724, which may be separately coupled to or includedwithin the computing device 710. In operation, computing device 710 isconfigured to receive and transmit a number of data flows viacommunications interface 722 including, for example, user data 730,insurer data 732, third party 734 and universal design data 736.

The peripheral device interface 712 may be an interface configured tocommunicate with one or more peripheral devices. The peripheral deviceinterface 712 may operate using a technology such as Universal SerialBus (USB), PS/2, Bluetooth, infrared, serial port, parallel port, and/orother appropriate technology. The peripheral device interface 712 may,for example, receive input data from an input device such as a keyboard,a mouse, a trackball, a touch screen, a touch pad, a stylus pad, and/orother device. Alternatively or additionally, the peripheral deviceinterface 712 may communicate output data to a printer that is attachedto the computing device 710 via the peripheral device interface 712.

The display device interface 714 may be an interface configured tocommunicate data to display device 724. The display device 724 may be,for example, a monitor or television display, a plasma display, a liquidcrystal display (LCD), and/or a display based on a technology such asfront or rear projection, light emitting diodes (LEDs), organiclight-emitting diodes (OLEDs), or Digital Light Processing (DLP). Thedisplay device interface 714 may operate using technology such as VideoGraphics Array (VGA), Super VGA (S-VGA), Digital Visual Interface (DVI),High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), or other appropriatetechnology. The display device interface 714 may communicate displaydata from the processor 718 to the display device 724 for display by thedisplay device 724. As shown in FIG. 7, the display device 724 may beexternal to the computing device 710, and coupled to the computingdevice 710 via the display device interface 714. Alternatively, thedisplay device 724 may be included in the computing device 700.

The memory device 720 of FIG. 7 may be or include a device such as aDynamic Random Access Memory (D-RAM), Static RAM (S-RAM), or other RAMor a flash memory. The storage device 716 may be or include a hard disk,a magneto-optical medium, an optical medium such as a CD-ROM, a digitalversatile disk (DVDs), or Blu-Ray disc (BD), or other type of device forelectronic data storage.

The communication interface 722 may be, for example, a communicationsport, a wired transceiver, a wireless transceiver, and/or a networkcard. The communication interface 722 may be capable of communicatingusing technologies such as Ethernet, fiber optics, microwave, xDSL(Digital Subscriber Line), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)technology, wireless cellular technology, and/or any other appropriatetechnology.

An instance of the computing device 710 of FIG. 7 may be configured toperform any feature or any combination of features described above asperformed by the consumer client device 130 as described with respect toFIG. 1. In such an instance, the memory device 720 and/or the storagedevice 716 may store instructions which, when executed by the processor718, cause the processor 718 to perform any feature or any combinationof features described above as performed by the web browser module 134.Alternatively or additionally, in such an instance, each or any of thefeatures described above as performed by the web browser module 134 maybe performed by the processor 718 in conjunction with peripheral deviceinterface 712, display device interface 714, and/or storage device 716,memory device 720, and communication interface 722.

Alternatively or additionally, an instance of the computing device 710may be configured to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the insurance data system 110. In suchan instance, the memory device 720 and/or the storage device 716 maystore instructions which, when executed by the processor 718, cause theprocessor 718 to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the interface module 112 and/or thecalculation module 114. In such an instance, the processor 718 mayperform the feature or combination of features in conjunction with thememory device 720, communication interface 722, peripheral deviceinterface 712, display device interface 714, and/or storage device 716.

Alternatively or additionally, an instance of the computing device 710may be configured to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the product management system 160. Insuch an instance, the memory device 720 and/or the storage device 716may store instructions which, when executed by the processor 718, causethe processor 718 to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the product management system 160. Insuch an instance, the processor 718 may perform the feature orcombination of features in conjunction with the memory device 720,communication interface 722, peripheral device interface 712, displaydevice interface 714, and/or storage device 716.

Alternatively or additionally, an instance of the computing device 710may be configured to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the web site system 120. In such aninstance, the memory device 720 and/or the storage device 716 may storeinstructions which, when executed by the processor 718, cause theprocessor 718 to perform any feature or any combination of featuresdescribed above as performed by the financial web application module 122and/or the HTTP server module 124. In such an instance, the processor718 may perform the feature or combination of features in conjunctionwith the memory device 720, communication interface 722, peripheraldevice interface 712, display device interface 714, and/or storagedevice 716.

Although FIG. 7 shows that the computing device 710 includes a singleprocessor 718, single memory device 720, single communication interface722, single peripheral device interface 712, single display deviceinterface 714, and single storage device 716, the computing device mayinclude multiples of each or any combination of these components 712,714, 716, 718, 720, and 722 and may be configured to perform analogousfunctionality to that described above.

Referring now to FIG. 8, illustrated is an exemplary screen 800displaying an enhanced coverage option selection screen on a graphicaluser interface in an illustrative embodiment of the present invention asmay be displayed among devices shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In oneembodiment, a user operates a device 810, such as a user terminal orportable computing device for viewing and accessing information and datarelated to insurance policy enhanced coverage options as describedherein. Device 810 may include a touch screen 812 that can be an activesensor employing capacitive, resistive, inductive, or other methods, orit can be a passive surface on which touch sensing is accomplished byoptical, acoustic, or other similar methods. Device 810 can also be aliquid crystal display (LCD), organic light emitting diode (OLED)display, electroluminescent display, or any other type of small displaysuitable for mounting in a portable computer or mobile device. Device810 may be color or monochrome, and may include a backlight capabilityto enhance readability in various lighting conditions.

In an embodiment of the present invention, device 810 displays a webpage 814 for access by a user. Web page 814 may include an input area816 for selecting inputs related to the enhanced coverage choices oroptions such as options and other related options. Web page may be apage within an insurance entity operated website where the websitedisplays information on one or more insurance product option(s) thathave been determined to be suitable for the user, consumer or agentbased on their inputs and selections. Enhanced coverage options mayinclude pre-defined options designed by level such as high, medium orlow, or by dollar value such as $500, $2500 and $5000 or by color gold,silver and bronze, etc. such as shown in section 830. In otherembodiments, one or more of the enhanced coverage options may include auser definable or customizable option that allows the user or customerto define one or more terms or features of the enhanced coverage option.In the disclosed embodiment, the user definable term is a coverage limitsuch as a limit of $2750, a limit of $8000 or other user definable limitsuch as shown in screen area 830. In other embodiments, the userdefinable term may be a particular upgrade or class or category ofupgrades. In embodiments, the particular upgrade or class or category ofupgrades may be in addition to or instead of a dollar limit, or may besubject to the dollar limit. For example, the user may specify that theydesire a different counter height in the case of damage to their kitchenor handrails in their bathroom in the case of a loss to their bathroomarea. In this embodiment, the system would calculate a dollar valuelimit option selection based on the desired upgrade. In accordance withillustrative embodiments of the present invention selecting the enhancedcoverage option will provide the insured with enhanced improvements inthe event of a claim or loss based on universal design considerations.

In embodiments, a system may be configured to display for the user anoption of a selection of one or more rooms for an enhanced coverageoption. By way of example, the system may be configured to display auser option to select a kitchen, all bathrooms of the house, onebathroom of the house, other rooms, or one or more combinations ofavailable rooms. In these embodiments, the system may be configured tocalculate a premium based on the user selection of rooms. Inembodiments, the system may be configured to provide the user with anoption to select one or more upgrades other than upgrades to a selectedroom. By way of example, the system may be configured to provide theuser with an option to select an exterior improvement. Examples ofexterior improvements include ramps suitable for wheelchairs, improvedlighting on walkways and stairs, improved surfaces for walking, by wayof example. By way of further example, the system may be configured toprovide the user with an option to select an interior improvement notlimited to an affected room. By way of example, such an interiorimprovement may include improved lighting in stairs, hallways, andelsewhere, improved or added handrails in stairways, hallways andelsewhere, non-skid surfaces on stairs, hallways and elsewhere, andother improvements.

Any of the options discussed above in connection with FIG. 8 may becombined with one another in any combination in embodiments. The systemmay be configured to provide user options by providing drop down menusof available options, text boxes or in other manners.

FIG. 9 illustrate an insurance company entity system 900 that includesan insurance company entity controlled server 910 and an associated datastorage device 920. Data storage device 920 may be a conventionalstorage device or a conventional network storage environment based on atraditional physical storage servers that includes non-volatile massstorage devices. Data storage device 920 may also be a public or aprivate, professionally administered, high-capacity cloud runningvarious “virtual machine” (VM) servers. The cloud may be based onredundant, highly reliable infrastructure with replicated storage andload and performance management to store insurance company relatedinformation such a policy and property information and informationrelated to better living or universal design upgrades, modifications andimprovements, which may be associated with room types such as a kitchenroom type or a bathroom room type, such as shown in databases 930 and940. In embodiments, the database may be accessed in connection withgeneration of policy documents, such as for generation of a listing ofavailable upgrades for inclusion in a policy endorsement, and invalidation of upgrade expense information, such that the system willvalidate only expense information corresponding to a room type and amodification associated with the room type as stored in the database. Inembodiments, in response to a determination that a loss event iseligible for coverage under an enhanced coverage endorsement, a systemmay access and provide in a communication to an insured or arepresentative of an insured a listing of available upgrades fromdatabases 930 or 940. The insured may then receive the listing ofavailable covered upgrades prior to contracting for upgrades. Inembodiments, a system may generate a web form with a user-selectablelist of available upgrades from databases 930 or 940, depending on roomtype of the loss event, in connection with submission of upgrade expenseinformation, such as via a web-based claims sub-system.

In embodiments of the system, the system may be configured to addmodifications to the database of FIG. 9 as new types of improvements areapproved by the insurer's claims operation. For example, an insured mayidentify an upgrade to an affected room that meets the requirements ofuniversal design by rendering use of the room or a fixture in the roomsafer, more accessible or easier to use. By way of illustrative example,a vanity may be in good condition but have doors that are difficult foran individual with hand injuries or conditions such as arthritis tooperate; replacement of a vanity with difficult doors to open willrender the bathroom more accessible and easier to use, and thus meet therequirements for universal design principles. Upon review and approvalby a claims operation, such an improvement may be added to the databaseof FIG. 9.

In embodiments, a database of FIG. 9 may include a list of modificationsor improvements that fail to meet the requirements of universal design.By way of example, a replacement of a microwave oven with a microwaveoven that differs only in available power would not qualify as animprovement that meets universal design principles. On the other hand,replacement of a microwave oven with a new microwave oven having highercontrast and larger size of numbers on a keypad would meet therequirements of universal design principles.

Referring to FIG. 10, a table is shown that represents an enhancedcoverage insurance database 1000 that may be stored, for example, withindatabase 116 shown in FIG. 1 or database 224 shown in FIG. 2 Database1000 may include, for example, entries identifying certain data andinformation related to administering and managing enhanced coverageoptions for policyholders. For example, database may also define fields1010, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1050, 1060 and 1070 for each of the entries inthe database 1000. The fields 1010, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1050, 1060 and1070 may, according to some embodiments, specify: a propertyidentification 1010, an enhanced coverage option identifier 1020, anenhanced coverage limit amount 1030, a base coverage amount 1040, anapplicable deductible amount 1050, an available enhanced coverage amount1060 and an applicable premium 1070. The enhanced coverage insurancedatabase 1000 may be created and updated on a periodic basis or in realtime as information related to the fields of the property identification1010, the enhanced coverage option identifier 1020, the enhancedcoverage limit amount 1030, the base coverage amount 1040, theapplicable deductible amount 1050, the available enhanced coverageamount 1060 and the applicable premium 1070 become available or changeas claims occur and policies are updated, renewed, cancelled, etc.

Referring still to FIG. 1000, the property identification 1010 may be anaddress or other identifying indicia such as policy number thatidentifies a particular insured property. The enhanced coverage optionidentifier 1020 may be an insurance company particular alphanumeric codeidentifying a particular enhanced coverage option that corresponds to acertain enhanced coverage limit amount 1030, or may be an industrystandard . The base coverage amount 1040 may be an amount correspondingto a base coverage for the property identified in 1010 with anapplicable deductible amount 1050. The available enhanced coverageamount 1060 is an amount that depends on the enhanced coverage limit1030, the base coverage amount 1040 and the deductible 1050 as well asany prior claims that may have used all or a portion of the enhancedcoverage limit 1030. The available enhanced coverage amount 1060 may becalculated by determining if the base coverage amount 1040 has been usedup and corresponding deductible 1050 has been paid and then taking theenhanced coverage limit and subtracting any prior claim amounts paidunder the option to determine the enhanced coverage limit amount as maybe represented by (Enhanced Coverage Limit−Enhanced Coverage Limit Usedfor Prior Claims)=Available Enhanced Coverage Amount (subject todeductible payment and base coverage usage). For example, in row 1080,property 567 Hartford Ave with a base coverage of $25,000, a $500deductible and a $2500 enhanced coverage limit with an applicable yearlypremium of $44. In this example, the property had a prior claim thatexhausted the $2500 enhanced coverage limit and thus the availableenhanced coverage limit is now $0. In other embodiments, the enhancedcoverage limit may apply to all losses under the property or apply perincurred loss.

In embodiments, a total premium, which is a sum of a base premium forthe underlying property coverage and the premium for the enhancedcoverage premium, may be calculated and displayed for the user prior tobinding of the policy and endorsement. The premium for the enhancedcoverage upgrade may be fixed for a period, such as a yearly,semi-annual or other policy term. In other embodiments, the premium forthe enhanced coverage upgrade may be variable.

In embodiments, upgrade coverage for upgrades in accordance withuniversal design principles may be available for commercial propertyinsurance. In embodiments, upgrades may be available for a same roomthat is the subject of a loss. Examples applicable to homeownersinsurance may be applicable to rooms covered by a commercial insurancepolicy, such as bathrooms. In embodiments, coverage may be provided toprovide upgrades to provide for compliance with local, state or nationalrules and regulations applicable to safety, accessibility or otherfactors. In embodiments, the commercial insurance coverage may apply toareas within a commercial building, such as hallways, lobbies, receptionareas, bathrooms, break rooms, kitchens, conference rooms, retail floorareas, open warehouse areas, and other areas. Insureds under commercialpolicies in embodiments may select coverages as illustrated anddiscussed in connection with FIG. 8. Options may differ for commercialpolicies; for example, different areas that may be the subject ofupgrades may be provided. Types of available upgrades may includeinstallation of handrails, widening of doors, upgrades to lighting,upgrades/modifications to flooring, installation of accessible doorhandles, moving of light switches and changes to light switches, andother modifications. The modifications available for commercial policiesmay be the same as or different from those for homeowners policies. Theinsurance company systems may be provided with look up tables forpremiums for commercial policies, with validation procedures forcommercial policies and other features as described herein withreference to homeowners policies.

While illustrative embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed to cover one or more upgrades, enhancements or improvements inaccordance with universal design principles to homes and businesses aspart of a home insurance policy or a business owner's policy the presentinvention may be applied to an automobile insurance context to providefor upgrades, enhancements and improvements in accordance with universaldesign principles to a motor vehicle in the event of a loss. Forexample, if an automobile is involved in an accident and sustains damageto its front end, an enhanced coverage option in this instance wouldallow the insured individual, for example, to upgrade their automobilewith a rear view camera, a step for a minivan or small truck, a heatedseat (helpful for those with back injuries or conditions), upgraded doorhandles, or other similar upgrade, enhancement or improvement inaccordance with universal design principles under the applicableenhanced coverage policy limit. In embodiments, the user may bepresented with options similar to those illustrated in connection withFIG. 8 and discussed in connection with FIG. 8. Thus, options mayinclude maximum coverage amounts for upgrades, selections of types ofupgrades or categories of upgrades to an automobile may be madeavailable. The insurance company systems may be provided with look uptables for premiums for automobile policies, with validation proceduresfor automobile policies and other features as described herein withreference to homeowners policies. In embodiments, limitations onselections of upgrades may differ with respect to automotive policies;for example, validation and processing rules may require that upgraderepairs be performed at the same time as other repairs associated with aloss.

The determination of premiums will now be discussed. In embodiments, aninsurance company may determine premiums for coverage initially bydetermining frequency for applicable rooms. Thus, in an embodiment inwhich homeowners policies may provide coverage for upgrades to kitchensand bathrooms only, a kitchen and bath frequency may be determined. Thekitchen and bath frequency may be determined as the product of totalclaim frequency from claim data, multiplied by a ratio of claimsaffecting the kitchen or bathroom to total claims. The total claimfrequency may a percentage of total properties having a claim in a givenyear to the total number of properties insured. Thus, kitchen and bathfrequency may be determined by:

KitchenandBathFrequency=(TotalClaimFrequency)×(KitchenandBathRatio)

By way of example, the average total claim frequency for a three yearperiod may be 10%. The kitchen and bath ratio, that is, the percentageof claims involving damage to a kitchen or bath, average for the samethree year period may be 20%. The resulting kitchen or bath frequency is2%.

A loss cost per policy may then be determined for available limits thatmay be offered to the policyholder. The loss cost per policy may bedetermined by multiplying the limit by the kitchen and bath frequency.An expense load may then be determined or accessed. An expense load maybe a value indicative of the expense of processing a claim. A discountfactor may be determined. The discount factor may be a sum ofanticipated claims triggered and not exercised and claims less than thelimit. The indicated average premium may then be calculated as follows:

IndicatedAverage Premium=(LossCost)×(ExpenseLoad)×(TotalDiscountFactor)

For $1000 limit and a kitchen and bath frequency of 2%, the loss cost is$20.00. For an expense load of 2.0, a total discount factor of(100%-10%-10%=80%) (based on not exercised claims of 10% and claims lessthan the limit of 10%), the indicated average premium is $32.00.

The indicated average premium may then be adjusted by a base ratediscount, which adjusts for program variation. The base rate discountmay be set in the range between 80% and 100%, for example, and appliedto the indicated average premium to determine an indicated base premium.A selected average premium may be obtained by rounding to provide around dollar figure.

Although the methods and features described above with reference toFIGS. 1-10 are described above as performed using the examplearchitecture 100 of FIG. 1 and the example system 200 of FIG. 2, themethods and features described above may be performed using anyappropriate architecture and/or computing environment. Although featuresand elements are described above in particular combinations, eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with orwithout the other features and elements. For example, each feature orelement as described with reference to FIGS. 1-10 may be used alonewithout the other features and elements or in various combinations withor without other features and elements. Sub-elements of the methods andfeatures described above with reference to FIGS. 1-10 may be performedin any arbitrary order (including concurrently), in any combination orsub-combination.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer system, the system comprising: a website computer system comprising one or more processors, a memory coupledto the one or more processors, and one or more programs stored in thememory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, theinstructions causing the one or more processors to perform the steps of:generating for display on and communicating to a client device agraphical user interface including an enhanced coverage option selectionscreen area displaying a plurality of user-selectable enhanced coverageoptions corresponding to at least a first type and a second type ofenhanced coverage option selections, selectable to transmit a selectionto the web site computer system; receiving data indicative of anenhanced coverage option selection input via the web document from thegraphical user interface; causing the graphical user interface todisplay, responsive to user selection of the first type of enhancedcoverage option selections, a plurality of alternating images, includingan image of a damaged property and an image of the damaged propertyafter repair and upgrade according to universal design principles inaccordance with the first type of enhanced coverage, and, responsive touser selection of the second type of enhanced coverage optionselections, a plurality of alternating images including an image of adamaged property and an image of the damaged property after repair andupgrade according to universal design principles in accordance with thesecond type of enhanced coverage, the first type enhanced coverageoption and the second type enhanced coverage option each providing,responsive to a loss covered under a base property insurance policy, theloss affecting a portion of the property covered under the base propertyinsurance policy, upgrade coverage based on universal design principlesfor the affected portion, the upgrade coverage providing one or moreimprovements to the affected portion, the one or more improvements beingin accordance with universal design principles; a claims managementcomputer system in communication with the web site communication system,comprising one or more management systems processors, a managementsystem memory coupled to the one or more management system processors,and one or more management system programs stored in the managementsystem memory and configured to be executed by the one or moremanagement system processors, the instructions causing the one or moremanagement system processors to perform the steps of: receive, from auser via a remote device, property insurance data submittedelectronically in connection with a loss event related to an insuredproperty covered by a policy issued responsive to selection of one ofthe first type enhanced coverage option and the second type enhancedcoverage option, the property insurance data including data identifyinga portion of the insured property affected by the loss event; determine,based on stored data relating to the policy, whether the loss eventqualifies for repair and upgrade according to universal designprinciples in accordance with the enhanced coverage option, thedetermining including determining whether the affected portion is aportion type eligible for repair and upgrade; responsive to determiningthat the loss event qualifies for repair and upgrade according touniversal design principles, communicate to the user that the loss eventqualifies for repair and upgrade; receive upgrade expense informationfrom the user; validate the received upgrade expense information, thevalidating including determining whether the upgrade expense informationis indicative of an upgrade in accordance with universal designprinciples; and responsive to determining in the validating that theupgrade expenses of the upgrade expense information are payable at leastin part under the policy, generate instructions for payment to the userin accordance with the received expense information.
 2. The computersystem of claim 1, wherein the received insurance data comprises anindication of a portion of the property affected by the loss event, thedetermining comprising determining whether the affected portion relatesto a type of property portion covered under the enhanced coverageoption.
 3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the policy is ahomeowners insurance policy, and the type of property portion coveredunder the enhanced coverage option is one of a kitchen room type or abathroom room type.
 4. The computer system of claim 2, wherein thepolicy is a business insurance policy, and the type of property portioncovered under the enhanced coverage option is an access area.
 5. Thecomputer system of claim 4, wherein the access area is one of a walkwayand a bathroom.
 6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the upgradeexpense information is related to one or more of bathroom grab bars,single handle faucets, overhead lighting, non-slip flooring, step-inbathtubs, and comfort height toilets, and the validating includesdetermining that the upgrade expense information is indicative of anupgrade in accordance with universal design principles.
 7. The computersystem of claim 1, wherein the upgrade expense information comprisesinvoice data from one or more contractors who have provided upgrades toan undamaged items in accordance with universal design principles. 8.The computer system of claim 1, wherein the validation comprisesaccessing a database storing reasonable cost figures associated withtypes of upgrades, comparing amounts of invoices included in thereceived upgrade expense information to the stored reasonable costfigures, and then approving claims for payment up to the lesser of theamounts of the invoices and the stored reasonable cost figures.
 9. Thecomputer system of claim 1, wherein the validating comprises determiningthat the upgrade expenses are payable subject to an upgrade coveragelimit and exhaustion of a base coverage amount for the loss event. 10.The computer system of claim 1, further comprising an insurance datasystem comprising a premium calculation module comprising one or moreinsurance data processors, an insurance data memory in communicationwith the insurance data processors and storing processor-executableinstructions, which cause the one or more insurance data processors toperform the steps of: receiving from the web site system data indicativeof the enhanced coverage option selection; storing the enhanced coverageoption selection in a storage device; determining a premium for theenhanced coverage option selection; and communicating, via acommunications network, the determined premium for the enhanced coverageoption selection to the web site system for generating images fordisplay on the graphical user interface incorporating the determinedpremium.
 11. A computer-implemented method, comprising: generating by aweb site system for display on and communicating to a client device fora graphical user interface including in a screen area a display ofenhanced coverage options, corresponding to at least a first type and asecond type of enhanced coverage options, available for a coveredproperty, each of the enhanced coverage options providing one or moreimprovements to a property covered under a property insurance policy, inaccordance with universal design principles, in the event of an incurredloss to the covered property, each of the enhanced coverage optionsbeing selectable to transmit a selection, receiving, via a computercommunications network, data indicative of a user selected enhancedcoverage option made via the graphical user interface; in a separateenhanced coverage example screen area, responsive to receipt of a userselection of the first type of enhanced coverage option, by the web sitesystem, causing the graphical user interface to display a plurality ofalternating images including an image of a damaged property and an imageof the damaged property after repair and one or more improvements inaccordance with universal design principles corresponding to the firsttype of enhanced coverage option, and responsive to receipt of a userselection of the second type of enhanced coverage option, by the website system, causing the graphical user interface to display a pluralityof alternating images including an image of an affected area of adamaged property and an image of the affected area of the damagedproperty after repair and one or more improvements in accordance withuniversal design principles corresponding to the second type of enhancedcoverage option; receiving, by a claims management computer system incommunication with the web site computer system, from a user via aremote device, property insurance data submitted electronically inconnection with a loss event related to an insured property covered by apolicy issued responsive to selection of one of the first type enhancedcoverage option and the second type enhanced coverage option, theproperty insurance data including data identifying a portion of theinsured property affected by the loss event; determining, by the claimsmanagement computer system, based on stored data relating to the policy,whether the loss event qualifies for repair and upgrade according touniversal design principles in accordance with the enhanced coverageoption, the determining including determining whether the affectedportion is a portion type eligible for repair and upgrade; responsive todetermining that the loss event qualifies for repair and upgradeaccording to universal design principles, communicating, by the claimsmanagement computer system, to the user, that the loss event qualifiesfor repair and upgrade; receiving, by the claims management computersystem, upgrade expense information from the user; validating, by theclaims management computer system, the received upgrade expenseinformation, the validating including determining whether the upgradeexpense information is indicative of an upgrade in accordance withuniversal design principles; and responsive to determining in thevalidating that the upgrade expenses of the upgrade expense informationare payable at least in part under the policy, generating by the claimsmanagement computer system, instructions for payment to the user inaccordance with the received expense information.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein each type is a tierdefined by a coverage limit amount, and the validating comprisesdetermining an amount payable based on whether a total expense in theupgrade expense information is no greater than the coverage limit amountassociated with the tier.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim12, further comprising, by the web site system, providing at least threetiers of enhanced coverage options, each tier being defined bysuccessively increasing coverage limit amounts.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the property insurancedata further includes an identification of an affected room or rooms andpictorial data.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, whereinthe determining whether the loss event qualifies for repair and upgradeaccording to universal design principles in accordance with the enhancedcoverage option comprises determining whether the received insurancedata is indicative of the affected portion being a covered room type.16. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein communicating,by the claims management computer system, to the user, that the lossevent qualifies for repair and upgrade, comprises notifying the userthat the policy covers upgrades to the affected portion up to a coveragelimit of the selected enhanced coverage option type.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising providingthe user access to an automated system, via a web site system, preloadedwith information regarding listings of available upgrades and reasonablecosts for the available upgrades.
 18. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 11, further comprising receiving, by the claims management system,a selection from the user of an upgrade, and, responsive to receipt ofthe selection, providing pre-approval up to a lesser of a coverage limitassociated with a selected enhanced coverage option type or a storedreasonable amount for the selected upgrade.
 19. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 11, wherein the received upgrade expense informationrelates to an upgrade of an item not damaged in the loss event.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising: by aninsurance data system comprising a premium calculation module, receivingfrom the web site system data indicative of the enhanced coverage optionselection; storing the enhanced coverage option selection in a storagedevice; determining, by the insurance data system, a premium for theenhanced coverage option selection; and communicating, via acommunications network, the determined premium for the enhanced coverageoption selection to the web site system for generating images fordisplay on the graphical user interface incorporating the determinedpremium.